Question: What is your greatest achievement at your client/job in the last 12 months?

My manager likes to ask the team questions during the big team meetings he holds once per month. This time around, the question was a good one, and as soon as he asked it, I had my answer!

The question

What is your greatest achievement at your client in the last 12 months

I think I was 3rd or 4th to go, and here’s roughly what I said:

Late last year and into this year, I had the opportunity to work with a team of junior developers from Nigeria. While all of them had degrees in agriculture, they had all attended a developer bootcamp, and this was probably the first big project they had worked on.

The project was greenfield with a .NET backend and a React front-end, and I was on the project as the architect. The client put the team together, trying to bring on a good mix of front-end and backend developers. I was there primarily to help guide the team, and to ensure the architecture was followed.

I really enjoy helping developers grow, and this was an amazing team. They were all extremely hungry to learn, and while there were some frustrating moments, they picked things up quickly, asked great questions, and took responsibility for their learning.

My part of the project ended earlier this year, and many on the team have kept in touch. Some have thanked me and told me how grateful they were for my help, and while I didn’t do any of it for accolades, I’m just happy to know I had a positive impact.

Final Thoughts

I like questions like that and I like reflecting back on the times I was able to impact a (new) developers trajectory. I miss talking to them every day, but I’d like to think I set them up for overall success on the project, and for doing great things in their careers.

So? What was your greatest achievement at work in the past year?

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